Surreal Sweep, Reivers Take Final Four Games Before Shutdown

Council Bluffs, IA

With news of professional sports leagues, NCAA conferences and NCAA Championships suspending and canceling their seasons rolling in on Thursday via social media, Iowa Western and visiting Ellsworth played on.

NJCAA #4 Iowa Western had swept through Des Moines Area CC on Wednesday, the day before the four-game series with Ellsworth started, with restrictions on fan attendance being put in play and conference tournaments being canceled around the country.  By the time the first pitch with the Panthers came on Thursday, the NBA, NHL, and MLS had suspended play and Major League Baseball called an end to Spring Training with Opening Day being delayed indefinitely.  IWCC and ECC took the field.

Game one of the day featured a hot start from both squads.  Panther DH Carlos Aranda belted a three-run single in the top of the first inning for a short-lived advantage.  The Reivers countered with a two-run single by left fielder Jevon Mason to score the Reivers middle infield combo of Cooper Bowman and Sam Riola.  Mason would score one batter later when he and third baseman Colin Kasperbauer came across after Kasperbauer's double and an error by ECC.  

With the Reivers up 4-3 after one, Ellsworth fought back to tie the game in the top of the second and retake the lead in the top of the third.  Bowman, the Reivers shortstop, would even the game up with an RBI single to score right fielder Spencer Parker in the bottom of the fourth.  Parker then singled to score catcher Nick Juaire after the TCU transfer led off the inning with a triple.  The 6-5 lead would hold as Ryne Schooley picked up his first win of the season in relief, while Alex Firsdon earned the save for IWCC.

Game two featured excellent performances on the mound from both squads.  Jacob Schellpfeffer allowed only four hits to the Reivers, but two of the four were to Bowman.  The sophomore put himself into scoring position twice on the day with another pair of stolen bases and scored both IWCC runs, the first via a sacrifice fly (Jaden Rolffs) and the game-winner on an RBI groundout (Nick Juaire).  As impressive as the Panthers were on the mound, the Reivers also got a stellar performance from the trio of Sawyer Hansen, Nathan Berg, and Sam Riola.  The combo limited ECC to just three hits while striking out 11 batters in the 2-1 IWCC victory.  Hansen grabbed the win for the Reivers and Riola picked up his second save of the season.

As strange as Thursday was for the teams, Friday was even stranger.  With the NCAA already calling the spring sports seasons (including their championships) a wash, the NJCAA continued their due diligence on what to do with the growing virus concerns.  Reiver Head Coach Marc Rardin and Panthers skipper Samuel Vega got their teams ready for another day of competition.  

The Reivers started redshirt freshman Conner Mackay in game one of the day.  The right-hander allowed a single second-inning run in an otherwise dominating complete-game performance.  The run, off a double steal by the Panthers, gave the visitors a brief lead before IWCC got it going in the third inning.  Centerfielder Aaron Gerdes tied the game on an RBI grounder to score first baseman Derek Shoen before Kasperbauer drove in second baseman Henry Zipay with his third triple of the season.

Cooper Bowman provided some much-needed breathing room in the fifth, launching his second homer of the season to lead off the inning.  The ball caromed off the Reivers Athletic Performance Center beyond the left-field wall as both dugouts watched in awe.  Jaden Rolffs would add a two-run, pinch-hit single to plate Mason and Juaire later in the inning for the final damage in the Reivers 5-1 win.

During the game, the NJCAA announced a non-competition period beginning the next day (March 14) and extending to April 3rd.  Meaning the teams opened the game two of the day knowing it could be their last of the season. 

The Reivers sent Tanner Kohlhepp to the bump looking for his fourth win of the season.  The sophomore transfer pitched out of early trouble as his teammates figured out ECC starter Matt Nolan.  IWCC did just that in the bottom of the third when Sam Riola doubled to score both Cooper Bowman and right fielder Cyler Melvin.  Bowman, the designated hitter in the game, went 1-2 and walked twice.  The Reivers added another in the inning when Riola scored on Nick Juaire's single.  Ellsworth would plate their only runs of the game in the top of the fourth before the Reivers added an unearned run in the bottom half.  The 4-2 victory saw not only Kohlhepp on the mound but also frontline starters Braedyn McLaughlin and Jack Neely.  In addition, talented freshman Evan O'Toole threw a perfect inning in the win.  Neely picked up the save in the Reivers 20th victory of the season.

The first scheduled games for the Reivers after the April 3rd date set by the NJCAA are at home against Indian Hills, however, the news continues to call for periods of social distancing for periods of around eight weeks.  If that time period is used as a basis, that would most certainly wipe out the regular seasons for most NJCAA governed teams, leaving only the conference and district tournaments as options before the JUCO World Series is scheduled to begin on Memorial Day weekend.  As you know, the current situation is very fluid and what is best for the student-athletes, coaches, staff, and community will surely be taken into account when the final decisions are ultimately made.  

For more on what Iowa Western is doing to combat COVID-19, click here - https://www.iwcc.edu/covid19/

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Stay safe Reiver Nation.